Adelaide Airport plans to cut energy consumption and carbon emissions by 10 per cent with the installation of 4,500 solar panels as part of a new rooftop solar system.
To be built on top of the short-term car park, construction of the solar system was expected to begin in December and be completed by April 2016, Adelaide Airport said on Friday.
Moreover, the airport said the new solar system would be the largest airport rooftop solar power system in Australia and capable of powering the equivalent of 300 homes.
“Adelaide Airport is again proud to be an aviation industry leader in sustainability,” Adelaide Airport chief executive Mark Young said in a statement.
“This solar system significantly reduces our energy consumption, while assisting the state government in achieving its renewable energy targets.”
Adelaide Airport’s first solar panels were installed on the roof of its passenger terminals in 2007. The new 4,500-solar panel system is 10 times larger than the existing facility.
Solgen Energy is installing the solar system and its director David Naismith said the new panels covered about 8,000 square metres of rooftop space.
“Working within Adelaide Airport’s site constraints we engineered a bespoke solution to solve the delicate balance of optimising power output, while delivering a robust business case,” Naismith said.